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 JOE BECK |
 NELS CLINE |
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MARVIN Guitar Man (Universal)
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GODFREY
TOWNSEND
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JOE
BECK
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THE NELS CLINE SINGERS
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RAY
SAPKO
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TOM
HEMBY
Attention Artists and Record Companies: Have your CD reviewed
in mwe3.com and 20th Century Guitar. Send to P.O. Box 630249, Little
Neck, N.Y. 11363-0249
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The
U.K. twang that changed England’s ‘50s pop music for the better,
Hank B. Marvin’s famous Shadows guitar sound is given a new twist
on his 2007 CD Guitar Man. Yes, that’s him
covering the David Gates’ song with Bread, but in his able hands,
Hank’s instrumental version moves at a brisker tempo and is reworked
into pure instro-retro magic. And that goes ditto for fresh Marvin guitar
instrumentals of Sting, The Doors, Cat Stevens and a new and cool guitar
take of the Carol King classic, “You’ve Got A Friend.”
The midas touch in the guitar world, to those who know of him, Hank
is always at his best when playing Hank, as he does on a pair of Marvin
instrumentals here. Going out in a blaze of ‘60s rock flashbacks,
Guitar Man closes with Hank finally doing his own instrumental
rock version of the Beatles white album classic “While My
Guitar Gently Weeps”—focusing on both melody and memory. The
original U.K. guitar man’s Fab Four affinity breaks new ground
with Hank’s instrumental take on the Revolver classic, “Here,
There & Everywhere.’ Commenting on his connection to the Lennon/McCartney
classic, Hank recalls “At sometime during 1966 I ran into Paul
at Abbey Road studios. The Shadows always recorded there and of course
so did The Beatles, so we regularly used to see each other and we’d
all become good pals. Paul said to me ‘I’ve got a great tune
for The Shadows that I’ve just finished writing’ and he played
it to me there and then. I loved it, so he said he’d send me a
copy of it so that we could record it, but it never showed up. Then,
when I heard the next Beatles album I realized why. The song was “Here
There and Everywhere. Now, at last, I finally got to record my own version
and it’s on Guitar Man – it’s only taken me 40-odd
years to do it!” Performing his signature Fender Stratocasters
and Hodson & Aylward acoustic guitars, Hank’s 2007 CD release
of Guitar Man was recorded at his studios in Australia with several
players assisting including rhythm guitarist Gary Taylor, who
plays a Selmer-style acoustic and the drums and percussion of Ric
Eastman. With a cross-section of old and new sounds, Hank Marvin
stays true to the Shadows guitar tradition on Guitar Man. 
He’s
played guitar for some of the greatest rock legends in music history,
including the late, great John Entwistle, Cream icon Jack Bruce, Traffic
guitarist Dave Mason and he’s currently playing guitar with prog-rock
legends The Alan Parsons Project. With such a legacy of fretboard finesse
under his belts, it’s especially gratifying to see Godfrey Townsend
finally get to shine in the spotlight on his solo debut. Also a great
singer, Godfrey lets his guitar do the talking on his all instrumental
solo CD. Produced by Godfrey and drummer / keyboardist Steve Murphy,
Easy Journey To Other Planets features some excellent players
but the star here is Godfrey’s guitar work and exceptional instrumental
compositions. Anyone who thinks guitar-centric instrumental rock fusion—in
the best spirit of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever—is
a thing of the past should check out the dazzling musical interplay
at the core of Easy Journey To Other Planets.
The
name Joe Beck will be familiar to guitar fans thanks to his work over
the years with big names like Miles Davis, Paul Desmond, Tom Jobim,
Paul Simon and more. Having also arranged records for Frank Sinatra
and made co-artist albums with artists like David Sanborn and flamenco
guitarist Sabicas, Beck returns in 2007 with an instrumental trio CD,
appropriately entitled Tri07. Featuring Beck backed up by Santi
Dibriano (bass) and Thierry Arpino (drums), Tri07 sounds
fresh and is marked by Beck’s fat grooves, edgy improvisation and
clear virtuosity on electric guitar and synth guitar. Further commenting
on Tri07 Beck states, ‘These sessions were approached like
a live gig. This project, I’m proud to say, has many valuable moments.’
Spanning five decades, Beck’s name has become synonymous with skillful
musicianship and Tri07 is just the sort of diverse and well recorded
instrumental album you’d expect from such a renowned guitarist.
Draw
a couple of breaths before you cue up the 2007 CD from guitarist Nels
Cline. First off, there’s no singers here and not even something
remotely hummable as the entire proceedings here are instrumental rock
based. Currently touring with the rock group Wilco, Cline has won tons
of well earned praises for his experimental merging of guitar based
instrumental jazz and rock. On the third album by the Singers, Cline
receives like-minded support from Devin Hoff (bass) and Scott
Amendola (drums). Even with all the avant gard hard fusion wall
of sound, there’s still plenty of unusual guitar flavored atmospheres
to marvel at—check out track five, “The Angel Of Angels.”
Between his work as a guitar figure in Wilco to his acclaimed shred-ability
level as a mind-blowing fusion icon, Cline has rightly earned his moniker
as the world’s most dangerous guitarist. Polar opposite in content
from his guitar gig in Wilco, Draw Breath is the heaviest guitar
statement yet from Cline. 
All
the right adjectives apply to the debut solo CD from Chicago guitarist
Ray Sapko. Sapko was the guitarist in the hard rock group Tantrum, who
toured with legends like Kansas, Rick Derringer, Ian Hunter and more.
Following his years on the rock circuit, Sapko earned his BA in guitar
and he puts his vast knowledge of the electric guitar to work big time
on The Way Beyond Blue. An excellent example of the guitar in
an all instrumental hard rock setting, the ten track CD avoids most
of the pitfall in recording an all instrumental rock album and then
some. Commenting on the 2006 CD, Sapko adds, ‘The response to this
CD has been extremely positive from both those who are big fans of instrumental
music and those who are not.’ Hard rockers and jazz-rock fans alike
will get a jolt out of Sapko’s electrifying approach to electric
guitar based instrumental rock. 
Matt
McPherson makes great acoustic steel string guitars and you can hear
just how great they sound in the hands of Tom Hemby on his 2007 CD.
Chasing The Wind features a dozen Hemby original instrumentals
recorded in the studio. Hemby’s excellent guitar work and original
tracks are ably enhanced by his tasteful work on bass, drum programming,
synth, snare drum, organ and there’s even a guest appearance by
guitar icon Phil Keaggy, who contributes a stellar electric guitar
solo. Some of the jazzier tracks, featuring Hemby’s clever string
arrangements, evoke some of Wes Montgomery’s A&M work in the
mid ‘60s while the earthier, more acoustic sounding tracks are
a little reflective of Hemby’s label mate at Autumn—the equally
talented Bruce Gaitsch. Intriguing liner notes by Hemby are praiseworthy
of Matt McPherson, the master builder, who’s guitar craft is put
to the test and passes with flying colors on this well crafted collection
of reflective, well thought out instrumental guitar music. 
